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In Pursuit of the `Good European' Identity

From Nietzsche's Dionysos to Minoan Crete

University College, Cork, Ireland

This article argues that Nietzsche’s preoccupation with the figure of Dionysos can be best understood as a visionary insight concerning the distant roots of European culture in Minoan civilization. While the opportunity offered by the discovery of ancient Crete for continuing Nietzsche’s genealogical work into the sources of Greek culture was ignored by the vast archive of literature on Nietzsche, this project was pursued in a book by the mythologist K�roly Ker�nyi, published posthumously. Using the classic work of Henrietta Groenewegen- Frankfort, this article identifies the ‘spirit’ of Minoan Crete with its attempt to manifest the gracefulness of life. The sudden emergence of Minoan Palace civilization, its peaceful character shown by the absence of fortified walls, and the importance of epiphany scenes in various works of art all indicate the centrality of religion for ancient Crete. The article offers the hypothesis that the origins of this culture can be traced to similar transcendental experiences such as those in ancient Judaism. The basic difference is that in the Cretan case epiphanies were connected to female figures, leading not to a prophetic tradition of divine grace through the revealed word and public law, rather the transmission of a secret tradition and the manifestation of its truth through spectacular public rituals and graceful works of art. While direct awareness of Minoan civilization was lost, its central concern survived in the value attributed to the manifestation of radiant, indestructible truth, a central characteristic of European identity, periodically revitalized in a series of renascences.

Key Words: European identity • genealogy • grace • manifestation of truth • Minoan civilization • religious experience • Renaissance

Theory, Culture & Society, Vol. 24, No. 5, 47-76 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0263276407081282


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